Hamas to consider legal action against Egyptian newspapers

Hamas Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh’s political advisor has called on the Gaza government to sue Egyptian news outlets for reporting “fabricated news”(AFP Photo)

Hamas Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh’s political advisor has called on the Gaza government to sue Egyptian news outlets for reporting “fabricated news”, the state-run news agency MENA reported.

Political advisor Youssef Risqa was quoted Saturday evening saying that he called on the government to file a lawsuit against certain media outlets, although he did not specify which ones.

Mushir Al-Masry, a member of the Hamas Palestinian Legislative Council, confirmed to the Daily News Egypt that the government would be meeting soon to discuss “certain media outlets’ efforts to demonise Hamas”. Such outlets, he added, want to create conflict between Hamas and the Egyptian government.

The statement comes in response to a story which circulated in January, alleging that 7,000 Hamas militias belonging to the Al-Qassem Brigade militant wing crossed into Egypt through Gaza tunnels. These militias were reported to have crossed into Egypt in order to aid President Mohamed Morsi combat domestic unrest.

Hamas denied the claim on several occasions, calling it instead a plot to demonise the group through the media.